Heart of Darkness, Heart of Light
by ravenna.solo.408
Summary: From a Tumblr prompt-Neal becomes the (new) Dark One and Emma is the only one who can save him from darkness.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: From a prompt by an anonymous message on Tumblr-Swanfire prompt: Neal becomes the (new) Dark One and Emma is the only one who can save him from darkness. This is a bit AU from the beginning of Season Three, Part Two. To make things easier, Henry calls Neal and Emma "Dad" and "Mom" because he still has no memories of his life in Storybrooke. **

**Heart of Darkness, Heart of Light**

**Neal's POV**

It happened so fast that Neal didn't even realize what he had done until he saw the blade in his hand and the name on the blade change from "Rumplestiltskin" to "Baelfire". Neal dropped the vile thing on the ground and ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the forest and back to his father's castle. He stumbled inside and crumpled to his knees in front of the fireplace, sobbing into his hands. "Papa...no..." he wailed, rocking back and forth. "I'm sorry Papa, I'm so, so sorry..."

A ribbon of black smoke had trailed behind Neal the entire time he ran and when he fell to his knees, the ribbon had ample time to wrap around the sobbing man and envelop him like a cocoon. Neal's sobbing stopped and he gasped, feeling the blackness tighten around him until it became part of him. He was the Dark One now. And he needed to find a way to get rid of the curse. Baelfire stood and growled loud enough to shake the walls of the castle, stomping his way down to the dungeon where he found the one thing that could help him–his father's map of the Enchanted Forest. The map would guide him to every villain in the vicinity who could possibly help him rid himself of the curse. Perhaps they only needed a little...persuasion.

Baelfire's first destination–the bayou lair of one Dr. Facilier. If anyone knew about demons and possession, the good doctor just might. Neal just wanted to get rid of The Dark One and return to his family. He knocked on the doctor's door and waited not so patiently for the Shadow Man to answer. Had he just been the old Bae, he would have shivered at the atmosphere surrounding the voodoo man's run down shack. The darkness seemed to calm him and he wondered if he could harness some of this darkness to control the good doctor and force the man to rid him of this all-consuming darkness. Being so new at this existence, things would probably backfire.

The rickety door soon opened and the lanky dark Shadow Man appeared. He grinned and the gap between his teeth showed big as life. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Baelfire looked at him and smirked. "I believe you can," he said. "May I come in?"

"Why of course," Dr. Facilier said. "I would never deny entrance to the Dark One's son."

Baelfire held back a laugh. "What about the Dark One himself?"

Dr. Facilier blinked in disbelief. He knew the history of the blade. What evildoer in the Enchanted Kingdom didn't? But he was still in awe that this young man had killed Rumplestiltskin. "How did you do it?" he asked.

Baelfire scratched the back of his neck. "Defending my son," he said simply.

"How ironic that the son kills his father to protect his own son," Dr. Facilier said, smirking.

"Yeah, ironic," Neal said. He was losing patience with the witch doctor. "Look, I need to find a way to reverse the curse of the Dark One. And you are going to help me or else, got it?"

Dr. Facilier chuckled. "Or else, what, Baelfire?" he asked, suddenly standing at his full height and towering over Neal.

Neal's eyes glowed red before the went to full blackness and he said, "Or else, you will pay with your life." But the voice coming from him was not Neal. It was some otherworldly growl that made the voodoo witch doctor shake violently and cower before the Dark One.

**Emma's POV**

Emma and Neal had arrived in the Enchanted Forrest just in time to see Rumplestiltskin about to kill their son. Emma had pulled Henry to safety as Neal lunged for Rumple, forcing the dagger into his father's heart and killing him. Fearing the worst, Emma had shielded Henry from viewing what had happened. She watched in horror as Neal dropped the blade and ran. Emma and Henry approached the site of Rumplestiltskin's demise and Emma crouched down, picking up the jagged blade. She gasped as she saw the name on it. "Damn..." she cursed under her breath.

"Mom?" Henry asked, putting his hand on Emma's arm.

Emma looked at her son. "Well, kid, looks like we have our work cut out for us," she said.

"Is that what I think it is?" Henry asked, staring at the blade that had ended his grandfather's life.

"I wish I could say it wasn't," Emma replied, putting the tainted object in her satchel. "We need to find the Evil Queen's castle and figure out a way to destroy this thing."

Henry nodded. "What do we do about Grandpa?" he asked, indicating the body of Rumplestiltskin.

Emma frowned, looking around the forest for a safe place to put the body. She leaned against a tree with a huge knothole and conveniently the answer came to her as the trunk of the tree opened inward like a door. "I'll never get used to that," Emma said, taking Rumple under his arms and nodding for her son to get the man's feet. They stored the corpse inside the tree and pulled it closed. Emma looked at it and raised her hands, putting up a simple protection spell against anyone who may want to do harm to the former Dark One. Regina had taught her one thing, and that was protection. Emma hated how frequently she had to use those types of spells while in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry blinked at his mother's magic, still in awe that she could do any of it. He was still convinced that magic only existed in books and movies, and that real life was too mundane for the likes of what he had seen recently. "Cool."

Emma laughed. "You come from a long line of magic, kid," she said, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and kissing the side of his head.

"So you keep saying," Henry said, grinning up at her. He was getting taller, but was still shorter than Emma, and Emma hoped to keep it that way for a long time.

Emma was fully on her guard, knowing what dealing with The Dark One could mean for herself and her son. She wished that she had some way of communicating with the rest of their family, but they were back in Storybrooke. It was safer that way, especially with Mary Margaret's pregnancy. It was funny how a year could change Emma from being kind of a loner to going into full-on Mama Bear mode when her family was threatened.

"What do you think we'll find at the castle?" Henry asked.

"I don't know," Emma admitted. "But I hope we find something to save your dad."

"Me too," Henry said. "We only just got him back."

Emma smiled at her boy. If he only knew what she knew. (Well, he had known, he just doesn't know that he knows, you know?) As much as she wants to live where she was meant to live all along, really she'd just rather have her family safe and together. Getting Neal back was her top priority and then everything else would fall into place later. What kind of savior was she if she couldn't help her one true love?

"Mom?" Henry said, snapping Emma out of her own thoughts.

"Yes?' Emma asked. It was still strange for him to call her that, even if he'd done it for a year.

"What if...what if there's nothing we can do to help Dad?" Henry said in a small voice that made him sound half his twelve years.

"We can't think like that, Henry, okay?" Emma said, stroking his arm. She pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. "We'll get him back and then we'll be a real and proper family. Just you wait and see."

Henry nodded, but Emma could tell that her son was having doubts. She didn't blame him. She had her own doubts about the outcome of this little adventure. Thankfully, they reached the castle gates and wee able to go inside to their home away from home. This was the place that Emma should have lived out her younger years. And it was the place that Henry should have gone to when visiting his grandparents. Not that their life in Storybrooke was bad...it just wasn't anything like what they had been meant to do. Emma led Henry up the winding staircase to the tower where Regina had lived as the Queen for so long. There had to be some sort of potion or candle or spell that could break the hold that the Dark One's dagger had on Neal. Emma was determined to find it so that she didn't get the villain's ending.

Henry had been looking through one of the many books on the shelves, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. The problem was, neither he nor his mother knew what they were looking for. After about and hour or two of looking, Henry put the large book down and sighed. "There's nothing in here...nothing about true love or the heart of the truest believer...or anything. It's useless."

Emma looked at her son, holding her place in the book she'd been skimming. "Maybe we should use a little magic of our own to make it easier," she said, winking.

"I thought you weren't supposed to do magic for personal gain," Henry said, giving her a weary look.

"I don't think this is personal gain, Henry," Emma said. "We're helping your dad."

"Who is in love with you," Henry pointed out.

"And who also doesn't deserve to be the Dark One," Emma shot back."Personally, I'd rather that there were fewer villains in this world, wouldn't you?"

"Point taken," Henry said.

"Your dad was never really a villain. You know that, right?" Emma said, grabbing Henry's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I know," Henry said. "I don't want him to be one. I know he had some issues with Grandpa...and I believe him when he says he wants to be my dad."

"He really does," Emma said. "And you know I'm still kicking myself for not telling him about you."

"I know that too, Mom," Henry said, closing the distance between them and hugging her.

Emma kissed the top of his head and held her son close.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews/followings/favoriting! I'm new to writing in the OUAT-verse so go easy on me. Trying not to go too ooc with the characters. Warning: Language. I don't own OUAT, of course. **

**Chapter Two**

Neal disliked being the Dark One already and it was only his first day. All he'd gotten from Dr. Facilier's lair was a whole lot of lip and no help. His new powers were strong already, but controlling them was kind of a pain in the ass. He almost knocked off three inches from Facilier's legs when the Shadow Man tried again to double cross him. Finally, the Darkness whispered to Neal the spell that he'd needed to get away from the bayou lair of the Shadow Man The words came from Neal's lips in that dark, layered voice from before and the good doctor was surrounded by his shadowy friends and hung upside down from the rafters.

"You'll regret that, Baelfire!" Dr. Facilier shouted, swinging to try and break the hold of the demons.

The demon voices cackled all around the shack and they tightened their hold on the Shadow Man, making the doctor writhe in pain and cry out for relief. The demons seemed to be enjoying that just a little too much. But at least they made it impossible for the Shadow Man to try and take control of Neal.

Neal smirked at the doctor's idle threats. "Not a whole lot you can do from up there, Facilier!" he said. "I'll let you down once you learn to behave. Until then, your friends will have to babysit you. I'm sure they'll find something to amuse themselves."

Dr. Facilier screamed as one of the demons poked him with a flaming stick pin.

Neal laughed, ducking out of the shack and slamming the door. He didn't pay attention to the fact that the hinges crumbled as he walked away. He didn't care. There had been nothing in Dr. Facilier's possession that could help him, so the man was completely useless. There had to be someone in this place that could do something. Neal just had to find them and coerce them into doing it. He didn't even care what price he had to pay–short of sacrificing his son or his love. He'd sooner kill himself than let anything happen to Henry or Emma.

He knew that there had to be good and bad to keep balance in it all (he learned that from many things, but one of them had been Star Wars). But the thing was, the balance had shifted when he became the Dark One. He wasn't like his father. Or at least, he didn't want to be anymore. His father and his grandfather had both been cowards. And some would argue that Neal himself had been a coward when he left Emma to get arrested in New York. What they didn't know was that he had been forced to do it. And now the person responsible for that had been given a second chance at growing up and doing the right thing. Pinocchio caused all of these events to start rolling. And lucky for him, he was turned back into a boy who didn't remember ditching baby Emma and the thousands of other wrong things he'd done. Had he been allowed to remain August, Neal would have made the wooden headed fool pay already for depriving himself and Emma of the family that they'd always wanted.

From somewhere deep inside, Neal could feel a voice laughing at his thoughts. The voice taunted him and made him feel weak._ "Give in to your anger and hatred,"_ the voice said.

"No," Neal replied. "I will not find that boy for your enjoyment."

"_Fool,"_ the voice hissed. _"It would feel so much better if you did."_

"You don't control me," Neal spat.

Regina stepped out of the shadows, dressed in a slinky black leather outfit, her hair piled on top of her head. She smirked at the man who was the rival for her love's affection. "Talk to yourself often, Mr. Cassidy?" she asked, folding her arms under her ample cleavage.

"What does it matter to you?" Neal asked, glaring at the woman. "And just what do you want, Your Highness?" The venom those last two words possessed could kill a snake.

"Only to help you, Baelfire," she said, using his given name. "It must be difficult to suddenly be able to wield all this power and not know what to do with it."

"You're not going to take them from me, either," Neal said, meaning Henry and Emma.

Regina laughed-a heartless, hollow sound– and stepped closer to him. "I could have had them already, if that was what I wanted," she said, lifting his chin with her fingertips. "What I want is for Emma and Henry to be happy. And apparently you make them happy. So I want to help you fight."

Neal pushed her hand away and took two steps back. "I don't want your help," he said.

"Very well," Regina said. "But the villains in these woods can't help you. Only I know how to break the hold on the Dark One's dagger."

Neal looked at her. "Then why didn't you help my father when it all but consumed him?" he asked.

"Because it was so much more fun to watch him go mad," Regina simply stated.

"I'm done listening to you," Neal said, walking past her.

"What if I told you that the only way you're getting out of this mess is to find Emma and your son?" Regina asked.

"I'd say you were lying," Neal stated without turning around.

"And just why is that?" Regina asked.

"Because you never call Henry my son," Neal said, reaching for the woman and holding her up against a tree. "Reveal yourself."

In a blue puff of smoke, the Blue Fairy replaced Regina. "Well done, Baelfire," she said.

Neal growled lowly in his throat. "What do you want, Blue?" he asked, not loosening his grip on the woman.

"I want you to ignore Regina," the Blue Fairy said. "She'll try all kinds of pretty words to trick you into coming with her. None of that will save you from the curse."

"And why should I trust you?" Neal stared into her eyes. She was the one who planted the idea of the Enchanted Wardrobe into the council's heads. She was the reason Emma had been lost to her family. Neal himself didn't know this, but the dark voices inside his head kept whispering to him that it was all her fault that Emma hadn't gotten her happy life.

"Trust me or not, it's the truth," Blue said, giving him a defiant look.

Neal threw her to the forest floor. "Get out of my sight!" he roared. "Go, you firefly from hell and stay there!"

Blue disappeared and Neal was once again left alone. "This is bullshit," he said, stalking off to his father's castle again. He didn't trust the Blue Fairy as far as he could throw her (and that last throw had been pretty weak). He needed to know that Emma and Henry were safe. If only there had been some way of tracking them...some kind of magic mirror or crystal ball. Neal would have to look harder when he returned to Rumpelstiltskin castle.

**Emma's POV**

Meanwhile at a castle not too far off...

Emma and Henry were both sprawled on their backs in Regina's library, tongues sticking out in concentration. Emma's eyes closed for a brief second and the book she'd been poring over fell and hit her nose. Henry tried not to laugh as he pulled the book off of his mother's face.

"Mom, wake up," Henry said, nudging her shoulder.

Emma jumped about three feet in the air and batted his hand away. "I wasn't sleeping," she mumbled, even though her eyes were closed.

"I still haven't found anything," Henry said. "I'm about to give up and find one of those nice beds upstairs."

Emma nodded. "Sounds nice, buddy," she said, rolling over onto her side and curling up into a ball.

"Tired, Miss Swan?" Regina asked from behind them.

That time, Emma sat up straight. "Holy shit! Regina, what have I told you about sneaking up on me?" she asked, rubbing both of her eyes. "And what are you doing here?"

"It's my home," Regina said pointedly."And I thought you two could use some help. You seem to be going nowhere awfully fast."

"Help would be nice," Henry said, smiling at the dark woman."I'd kind of like to see my parents back together as soon as possible."

Emma watched Regina bristle. Henry still didn't remember who she had been. He only knew her as the evil queen. Emma still didn't have the heart to tell her son any different. Eventually he would have his full memory back. At least she hoped so.

"How's Lord Locksley?" Emma asked, having seen Regina and Robin Hood together a time or two.

"He's fine, thank you," Regina said coldly.

"How did you want to help us, Mayor Mills?" Henry asked, helping his blonde mother off the floor.

"I know the spell you're looking for," Regina said.

Emma straightened her clothes and nodded. "Is it even in any of these books?" she asked, staring at the mountains of books they'd already gone through.

"It is," Regina said, going to just the right one. She flipped through the book using her magic.

Henry gave Emma a pointed look as if to say, _"Told you so."_

Emma elbowed her son in the ribs gently, but pulled him close. "What's involved with this spell?" she asked. "And how dangerous is it?"

"Depends on whether or not you have the dagger," Regina said, showing Emma the page.

Emma scanned it, pulling the dagger out of her bag. "Lucky for us, I do," she said.

Regina reached for the dagger and Emma held it away from the woman.

"I think I'll hold onto it for now, thanks," Emma said, keeping her grip tight on the offending weapon.

"We'll need it for the spell," Regina said, giving the younger woman a withering glare.

"You tell me what we need to do with it and I'll do it," Emma insisted. "But I will not have you trying to make Neal dance like a spider on a hot plate."

Regina smirked. "Spider on a hot plate, eh?" she said. "Tempting...but no. I was just going to summon him to make it easier for us to contain him...the spell is a bit tricky."

"Tricky how?" Henry asked, staying close to Emma. He was super-protective of his mother most of the time, but Emma had a feeling that this was a bravado thing more than a protective thing.

"Well, he might lash out at anything and everything around him...and we have to have something to contain that darkness when it escapes," Regina said. "So really, this is the safest place for him to be."

Emma and Henry looked at each other for a moment.

"Alright, we'll let you summon him, but remember, I have magical powers too," Emma said, letting Regina have the dagger.

"That fact alone frightens me, Miss Swan," Regina said, taking the blade of the dagger and waving it over the text. She said something in a foreign tongue and smoke started forming between Regina and the pair. In a puff of gray smoke, Neal appeared before her and he glared at Regina.

"What do you want, Blue?" Neal asked.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Has that damn nuisance fairy been disguising herself as me again?" she asked, handing the dagger back to Emma.

"If you're Regina, prove it," Neal said, holding his hand out in a mock Force choke.

Regina waved her hand towards him and caused his body to slam into the wall. "Proof enough for you, Baelfire?" she asked.

"No," Neal replied hoarsely.

Regina closed the distance between them and whispered in his ear. "You hurt one hair on my son's head and I will rip your heart out and kill you," she said so that only he could hear.

"He's my son and I'm not going to hurt him," Neal replied. "Your friend Blue made the mistake of referring to Henry as mine instead of yours."

"Idiot," Regina said.

Emma's eyes went wide, having covered Henry's ears. "The kid is in the room," she said.

Regina helped Neal to his feet. "Have a seat, Baelfire," she said, pulling up a chair behind him and causing him to sit. "Emma, tie him up."

"What?" Emma asked. "Why?"

"We just had this discussion not more than five minutes ago. Don't question me or I'll fling you like a rag doll too," Regina said, glaring at the blonde woman.

Emma and Henry tied Neal up and stood back from the chair.

"Sorry, Dad," Henry said.

"Kid, it's not your fault," Neal said, looking at his son. His eyes moved back to Regina. "At least tell me you've found a way to rid me of this curse."

"I have, Mr. Cassidy," Regina said. "But I will need the help of your true love."

Emma blinked. _Oh right...me..._ she thought.

"Miss Swan, if you please." Regina held out her hand towards the woman.

"If I please what?" Emma asked, confused.

Regina again rolled her eyes. "God, you are your mother's daughter," she spat. "Give me your arm."

"Okay..." Emma said, giving her arm to Regina and looking away.

"You're not going to cut her?" Henry asked, turning a few shades of green.

"I have to," Regina said. "It's the only way to cure your father's...ailment."

Neal's eyes bulged, looking at Emma who was looking at him. "I'm so sorry, baby," he said.

"Don't..." Emma said, shaking her head. "I just want to save you."

Regina took a chalice from one of the bookshelves and her own dagger. She sliced Emma's arm and let the blood run into it.

"Christ Almighty fucking hell!" Emma screamed.

Henry was too shocked by what he was watching to giggle or correct his mother. The blood was too much and he ran out of the room, looking whiter than a ghost.

Emma screamed again as Regina closed the wound and let the younger woman's arm drop to her side.

"Go to your love," Regina snarled, stepping away from the pair and preparing the potion.

Emma, too weak to do more than crawl, made her way over to Neal on her hands and knees. "I hope this works," she said quietly, looking up into his eyes. Her own eyes shone with tears that she had yet to shed.

Neal nodded, trying in vain to break the restraints and comfort his love. He took her hand in his and stroked it. "I should have been more careful," he said, tears shining in his own eyes. "I've damn near ruined everything we've worked for."

Emma shook her head, kissing his palm. "It wasn't your fault..." she said, laying her face against his hand.

Neal's thumb stroked her cheek gently. "All I wanted to do was to make things right for you and our son," he said.

"I know," Emma said, closing her eyes and pressing his hand closer to her face.

"Touching as all of this is," Regina said from behind them. "Neal needs to drink this or he'll end up probably killing you in your sleep."

Emma scooted back and watched as Regina put the chalice up to Neal's lips.

"You'll want to go farther away, Miss Swan," Regina said just as Neal started to twitch and shake the chair he was tied to.

Emma scrambled away to the far wall, watching in horror as Neal's body writhed. She pressed her knuckles into her mouth to keep from screaming out. This was necessary so that they could become a family again. As much pain as he was in now, he would be recovered soon after. Emma felt that to be true.

An unearthly sound came from the depths of Neal's being and a black ribbon escaped the man's mouth and nose. Regina held up a dagger that seemed to draw the darkness into it. Her stance wavered a handful of times as the darkness flowed into the object in her hand. Soon, the darkness stopped. Neal's shaking stopped, and Regina dropped the dagger to the ground. The weapon glowed with a blue-green flame and then turned to dust.

Emma took her hand away from her mouth and slowly approached Neal and Regina. "Can...can I untie him now?" she asked.

Regina nodded and waved her hand at the pile of dust, cleaning up the mess.

Emma closed the distance between herself and Neal, almost tearing off the ropes in her frenzy to free the man she loved. Two strong hands pulled her down onto his lap and their lips met in a kiss. Emma was sobbing again and didn't even know it until she felt Neal's thumb brush the tears from her cheeks.

"No more crying, my love," Neal said, kissing her forehead and then her lips again. "I'm never leaving you or our son again. I swear to you."

Emma smiled through her tears. "That's one of those pie crust promises," she said. "Easily made, easily broken."

"Not this time," Neal said, holding her close.

Regina made a gagging sound behind them and Emma turned to see the Evil Queen glaring at them.

"Something we can help you with, Your Majesty?" Neal asked, kissing Emma's temple as the blonde settled in close to him.

"Getting out of my castle, maybe?" Regina said. "Especially since you have your own."

"Very well," Neal said, setting Emma on her feet. "Let's go find Henry and go home."

Emma nodded, leading Neal from the library, her hand never leaving his. She was never going to let him go. Ever.

**A/N: So that's part two. Still more to come. Can't let Blue off the hook that easily. Oh and did you catch the references to _Hook _and _Mary Poppins? _Reviews are awesome and are like applause to a fairy. **


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